Planetary Principles – An International Law Discussion with members of the UN ICJ, ILC, and other leading international lawyers

Please join the Institute for International Law and Justice for this event, bringing together International Court of Justice Judge Bogdan Aurescu, six members of the UN International Law Commission, and other leading international lawyers to explore the possibilities and limitations of principles in international law for addressing contemporary planetary challenges. Planetary considerations – changes in oceans, climate and biosphere, as well as human technological programs ranging from nuclear weapons and geoengineering to space data centers – link very local occurrences to very large phenomena. International law is one of the resources humanity has for developing collective responses, but it is severely challenged in adapting to planetary scales, temporalities, and circumstances.

Date: Monday, October 26, 2026
Time: 3:00-5:00 pm, followed by a reception until 5:30 pm
Venue: Snow Dining Room, Vanderbilt Hall, NYU School of Law, 40 Washington Square South, New York

Speakers

• Judge Bogdan Aurescu – International Court of Justice 
• Professor Keun-Gwan Lee – International Law Commission 
• Dr Penelope Ridings – International Law Commission 
• Professor Nilüfer Oral – International Law Commission 
• Professor Olufemi Elias – International Law Commission 
• Professor August Reinisch – International Law Commission 
• Professor Martinš Paparinskis – International Law Commission 
• Professor Benedict Kingsbury – NYU School of Law
• Professor Laura Mai – University of Bern

RSVP here

This panel discussion will be followed by a conversation on "Due Diligence and Planet Earth" with Judge Phoebe Okowa, International Court of Justice, H.E. Amb. Franz Perrez, Director General of the Directorate of International Law at the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, and Dr Penelope Ridings, Member and Special Rapporteur on due diligence of the International Law Commission, from 6:00-7:00 pm, in the Lester Pollack Colloquium Room, NYU School of Law. Separate RSVP required here.